The presence of ice on aircraft surfaces can destroy or substantially reduce lift, which is necessary for flight. Therefore, when icing conditions exist, the ice must be removed or prevented, generally referred to as "deiced," before take off. Aircraft are typically deiced by the application of a heated deicing fluid, which is usually glycol.
One present method of deicing aircraft entails using a truck or similar vehicle with an arm attached. The arm has a cradle at the end from which an operator positions the arm and sprays deicing fluid on the surfaces of the aircraft. This method has several inherent disadvantages. First, this method requires considerable time to deice the aircraft. Additionally, waste of deicing fluid frequently results from the application of excessive amounts of deicing fluid. Moreover, human error in positioning and applying the deicing fluid is more probable, especially since the greatest need for deicing typically occurs in the harshest weather conditions. The human error and excessive amounts of deicing fluid expose operators to direct contact with the potentially dangerous chemicals in the deicing fluid.
Another method of deicing aircraft involves using a truck or similar vehicle with a arm attached thereto, and the arm positioned by remote. An operator views a monitor coupled to the arm, and based on the view from the remote camera, the operator positions the nozzles and sprays the surfaces. This method suffers from the same deficiencies as the prior system, but even less effectively deices the aircraft because the operator only views the aircraft surface through the remote video camera. If it is not possible to see in through the video camera, the operator will erroneously determine that the surface is free of ice.
A system is therefore needed to automatically deliver heated deicing fluid to the surfaces of aircraft in a short time, without waste of deicing fluid, and without error caused by human operators.